Princess Anne‘s husband has given us an update on how his wife is doing after she was hospitalized with a head injury on June 23, 2024. Sir Tim Laurence visited the princess at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, for two hours on June 25, and was questioned by reporters as he exited the facility.
“She is recovering well, thank you. We are both profoundly grateful to the medical team and hospital support staff for their expert care—and to the emergency services who were all so wonderful at the scene,” he said, per People. “We are both deeply touched by all the kind messages we have received from so many people near and far. It means a great deal,” he added.
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The Telegraph reported that the princess was suffering memory loss as a result of the “incident,” which is common with concussion. It means we may never know the full details of what happened because the princess herself can’t remember.
News of the princess’s accident broke on June 24, when Buckingham Palace announced that she had “sustained minor injuries and concussion following an incident on the Gatcombe Park estate yesterday evening. Her Royal Highness remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery.”
The statement added that “the King has been kept closely informed and joins the whole Royal Family in sending his fondest love and well-wishes to The Princess for a speedy recovery.” Anne’s medical team suggested her head injury is consistent with the type of impact from a horse’s legs or head.
Anne’s injury is the latest in medical challenges faced by the British royals and as it stands, the number of royals available for official engagements is limited. In February, King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer and less than two months later, Kate Middleton announced that she too was undergoing treatment for cancer.
“Plenty of people, including Anne, have been saying the royals have been spread too thinly,” a royal insider told The Daily Beast. “This is not a new thing. Prince Andrew did his Newsnight interview [about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, which led to his exit from royal duties] in 2019. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left their senior royal duties in 2020.”
They continued, “Of course, no one could have expected Kate to get so sick, but you hardly had to be a fortune teller back then to see that Charles, Camilla, and Anne were all getting older and therefore going to have to do less. Charles should have brought Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie [Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters] back. They have both made it very clear they would be willing to help, but he doesn’t like admitting mistakes.”
